


Of Breath, Of Death

by Hoodedscarlet



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Amnesia, Canon-Typical Violence, Multi, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 19:23:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7520140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hoodedscarlet/pseuds/Hoodedscarlet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>More than a decade ago, the tension between elves and humans came to a head in the Great Battle of Evrocawth, with years of injustice and prejudice against elvenkind spearheading an attack on those believed to be the root of the problem - the Lacroix royal family. Each member was struck down with a frightening precision, and in the wake of the throne being made vacant the two highest ranking soldiers in the land fought to the death over it. Only Jack Morrison emerged alive from the wreckage, Gabriel Reyes left for dead. Time moved on; Jack was made king, peace restored and the country mourned for it's dead.  Perhaps most profoundly of all for Amélie Lacroix whose body, along with Reyes', was never recovered.</p><p>But years on, a new unrest stirs in the kingdom. Whispers of a new evil ripple amongst the people and when Lena Oxton is confronted head on with a ghost from her past and a truth she cannot ignore, it is set to her and her companions to end the new war before it truly begins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Breath, Of Death

**Author's Note:**

> Finally starting to post my fill of the kink meme request for a magical fantasy AU! My main endeavour with this was for every character to be at least mentioned, aligning mostly with what was suggested by various anons on the kinkmeme. There are a couple of key differences - mainly that Reaper is played a lot more straight than the prompt originally implied. Tracer/Widowmaker and Pharah/Mercy are the main ships, with the others appearing later. Including this it's about a third written so hopefully updates shouldn't be too infrequent. Otherwise, enjoy! ❤

_Lena couldn’t breathe._

_She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear as her body was suspended in a place she neither recognised, nor could begin to make sense of as the air was sucked out of her lungs and she couldn’t breathe. Her limbs were heavy from lack of oxygen but she couldn’t move them if she tried, bound in place by smoke made solid. She struggled against her bonds anyway - she had to, she couldn’t force herself to relax because relaxing meant that she had lost,_ ** _it_** _had won and she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t breathe._

 _When were her nightmares this bloody lifelike, anyway? She couldn’t remember the last time she could feel her blood pounding in her ears when she slept, the breath of something primal and unknown down the nape of her neck that made every muscle in her body freeze up in fight or flight. But the words were choked out of her mouth and mind, made silent by clawlike fingers wrapping around her neck. They dug into flesh that suddenly felt too fragile, the bone in each digit unnervingly close to the surface._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Still trying to play hero, little girl?” He growled with breath that whistled between teeth unfiltered by lips and human morality. “You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.” The words smelt of rot and death and pestilence, curled around her to roil her stomach and make her pray it was empty. Not that it would matter in the end anyway. This was a dream, she tried to tell herself as his other hand crept down to the gap in her collarbone, this didn’t matter, this was a dream, this was a dream. He tore away the fabric covering her skin like it was paper, ripping cotton to expose the delicate highs of her collarbone too naked for comfort._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Stop._ **_Please._ ** _”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“And why would I do that?” She could hear the tilt in his voice, see it as he stepped forward into a light that didn’t exist. She knew it didn’t exist, she couldn’t see it but it reflected off the sharp edges of a cow skull mask all the same that did nothing to hide the laughter that shook his body and dashed any chance of Lena believing his words. “You refuse to bow, and so I must break you.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Sod off-!” Lena bit out, before fingers clenched tighter, tighter, crushing her and she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t_ **_breathe_ ** _._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Isn’t that cute? ” He said, his index finger pressing into the hollow of Lena’s neck where her hummingbird heartbeat fluttered underneath his fingers. “You think you can win even when you are here… Oh, I am going to enjoy this.” His talons trailed along the skin that gave way so easily too easily, drawing red lines that she didn’t have to look at to see._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Why don’t we see what you’re made of?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _And then his fingers were tearing, ripping and she could take iron on her tongue as pain blossomed in her chest and she had no breathe but she howled_ _  
_

\- And that was when Lena finally shot awake, hands scrambling to her chest as she choked on a scream that tried to rip from her chest. She could breathe, she could breathe now, everything was okay; but there was a difference between thinking she was okay and believing it and she hung on the precipice of it for far too long. Her fingers locked around the amulet that hung heavy on her chest as she willed her heart to slow. She was safe. She was okay. She let the words side over her tongue again and again, hoping the repetition would set the words true in her shaken mind.

A soft whinny and a nudge to her side broke Lena out of her self absorbed thoughts, making her glance up from her blanket tangled lap into the calm brown eyes of her horse. His nose was cold against her cheek but he pressed it against her anyway, making her laugh as she tangled her fingers in his dark mane. The hair was coarse under her touch, familiar; she breathed in his scent.  
  
“It’s alright love.” She said, “just a bloody horrid dream, nothing to get worked up over.” The words felt tested as her tongue ran over them, like she was saying them more to comfort herself than her companion. “Guess it’s what I get for running into old prissy pants, right? Emphasis on the old.” He nickered in reply, a laugh if ever Lena had heard one. She leaned over to pat his chestnut flank before untangling herself from her bedroll. She packed up her camp, or what consisted of it anyway. Years as a messenger had made her privy to making a home away from home every night and be able to pack it up in record time. It certainly helped having Blink with her though - he was a touch of familiarity in even the most unfamiliar of landscapes and that did a lot to settle the nerves.

Lena looked up when she had finished strapping everything down onto Blink out to the horizon to the city beyond. The day was shaping up to be the clearest they’d had in months with not a puff of cloud in the sky; it was the sort that made Evrocawth infamous across the country. On a normal day the white stoned city was just a breathtaking splash of white against the green and blue landscape, but under the early morning sun the castle in her centre shone like a beacon; fitting, considering all it stood for for her people. It stood of a greatness that only legends could now encapture, stood of the men and women who had graced the gilded halls and those who had found defeat in her shadow. It stood, even after battle and explosions and death had graced her halls, a testament to her people. When Lena was growing up, it was said if she could look to the horizon and see the gleam of the city upon it she was being the hero that was needed in the world - never had young her thought she would actually get to walk those halls herself. Frankly, there were a lot of things younger her wouldn’t believe - but that was how she liked it, after all.

She swung herself up onto Blink as soon as the two of them were ready, settling into the saddle with an ease of motion she didn’t even need to think about anymore. Her eyes were set on the capitol as she took the reins, tapping her heels into her horse’s side to turn him towards the road. Sleep still tugged at her shoulders, tiredness trying to drag her back and down as it had been the past week but she was so close and she wasn’t going to sleep now.  
  
“Onwards!”  
  
-x-

Sometimes, Lena forgot how big the halls of the castle actually were. She would spend weeks, sometimes months outside the city walls in the great expanses of nature, spreading the news of new laws or the invitation of a presence with the king or something equally important that required the attention of Morrison’s highest ranked messenger. That wasn’t a badge of honour Lena wore for no reason either; she and Blink a few years back had made it across the country in a week and a half when it usually took three. She would get a message to it’s recipient ‘ _as fast as possible, or not at all!’,_ and she had been able to stick by that promise ever since she had sworn herself officially to her king’s service.

She could experience all this land had to offer, and still every time she stepped through those large oaken doors she would feel as dwarfed as the day she had first lay step in here. Large stained glass windows illuminated the room in coloured mosaics, detailing great battles against elven armies of old, giant arachnids and evils Lena could still name if she had the patience. They stretched up the walls ten times her height at least, the only thing that rivaled their size the pillars that flanked either side of the room. A plush carpet gave under her booted feet as she walked forward, the smell of incense drifted through the air, wrapping around the scent of fresh bread for the evening’s meal.

Knowing Morrison, he liked to keep the last half hour before the meal free to clear his head and ‘sort all this shit out’ - it was convenient for Lena, since it gave her a dependable window for her to slip in and debrief him on what had happened during her time away. It was a system that worked for the both of them; Morrison was a no nonsense kind of guy and frankly Lena couldn’t sit still enough for nonsense to be a problem with her in the first place. But for some reason the doors to the throne room were shut, the guards posted there saying the king would be unavailable until tomorrow and no, there was no way to convince them - and that was how she found herself in front of the court jester, hands on her hips as she looked him up and down.  
  
“So you think you can get me in, love?”  
  
“Oh, sheila.” He replied, cocking his head to the side as his ever present smile somehow got wider. “I know I can get you in. It’s why ol’ Jack keeps me around, see? Know this beauty of a castle inside-out.”  
  
“Don’t doubt that about you, don’t worry.” Lena replied. “Heard all the stories to know enough.”  
  
“You sure? Can talk about those two cunts for days, thought they were so slick creepin’ in here, trusting the fool. Thought they had a good thing here - guess who got the last laugh after all that?” Junkrat’s words petered out into a fit of giggles that Lena was never quite sure whether unnerved her or put her at ease more. After all, Junkrat was on their side, supposedly - he had singlehandedly weeded out two assassination attempts on King Morrison before even the warlord had become aware of them. At the same time though, Junkrat had a fondness for explosions and mayhem that had made Lena literally fear for her own safety on a few occasions. The man tended to keep the fireworks for his shows, but there was a large part of Lena that was set in the knowledge that if Junkrat wanted to blow up the castle he _absolutely_ could… Best not to give him ideas.  
  
“Do you even know what’s got them all tied up?”  
  
“Some suit from out west.” Junkrat replied with face contorting into an uncharacteristic scowl, which in juxtaposition to his clownish makeup and jingling bells made him quite the sight. “Think’s he’s getting ripped off with taxes and shit, want ol’ Jack to whack down the rates just for him. Ol Jack’s trying to play nice ‘cause the guy’s got some mines or somethin’ that are important but I think even Ang’ is getting tired of this bullshit - and ya know when Ang’ is fed up you’re fucked.” Junkrat waggled his eyebrows in a way that made Lena crack a smile. She may be an adult - but causing a little well needed mayhem? Well, maybe she could indulge Junkrat.  
  
“What do you need from me?”  
  
“Nothing at all, mate.” Junkrat replied, a gleam in his eye. “To be honest with ya, me and Hog were already gonna do it - you just give us a good reason to.”  
  
“I like the way you think.” Lena replied, actually impressed. “Wait, why are you doing it though?”  
  
“Gotta make a living somehow, right? Keeping Boss in my good graces ain’t a bad way to play my cards either.” At that he put up his finger into the air, face contorting into an exaggerated frown. “Well, I lied. You gotta do one thing for me, sheila.”  
  
“Name it.”  
  
“Gonna have ol’ tight ass hightailing out those two doors as soon as we’ve got our act together.” Junkrat said, gesturing wildly to the throne room doors. “You gotta decide whether you come in where he comes out, or you follow us.”  
  
“Won’t the guards stop me if I go in the front doors either way?”  
  
“Listen mate; our brand of mayhem isn’t the sort that you can just sit through. Don’t worry about not being able to get in.” He said with a grin. “So you wanna come with us or not?” Lena quickly realised that ‘us’ was now a more apt description than before, as a large man slowly strolled up to Junkrat’s side. Or at least, Lena wanted to believe he was a man - The Hog was built like a mountain, just an unmistakable mass of muscle and fat barely covered with scraps of leather armour. His face was hidden behind a stitched pig’s mask but his gaze was as heavy as he was himself. It weighed on Lena tangibly as she was sized up. His butcher’s hook was a solid weight in his left hand, a fact that Lena was far too aware of, considering it was the length of her bloody arm and twice as thick.  
  
“Uh, I’ll be fine out here, love.” Lena said. “Just rode halfway across the country - gotta throw my feet up at some point, right?” She couldn’t help throwing a more nervous than she’d like glance at The Hog. He grunted.  
  
“Suit yourself.” Junkrat said, shrugging, seemingly unaware to the two’s exchange. Lena wasn’t entirely sure he’d acknowledge it if he did know though, consider he was the sort that let weird shit slide like water off a duck’s back - that, or he was usually the weird shit himself and it took a hell of a lot to beat him. “Just sit tight and we’ll be right on it!” With that Junkrat shot off before Lena could get another word in edgeways, hobbling as fast as his leg could carry him and with The Hog not far behind. Lena just watched them go with a mix of trepidation and slight amusement; how Junkrat managed to get _him_ as a bodyguard, she had no idea.

Well, she had some idea - considering that Junkrat had stopped a few assassination attempts on the king that had inadvertently made _him_ a target too. She wasn’t entirely sure what had happened - after all, when he showed up at the castle he was already missing an arm and a leg - but what she did know was when she had come back to Evrocawth after a time away she had met The Hog for the first time, and never did he let the scrawny jester out of his sight. It was slightly unnerving, but then again this was Junkrat. Unnerving was practically his first, middle and last name at this point.  
  
After that, nothing much happened as silence returned to the castle foyer, and after a few minutes Lena was starting to doubt if Junkrat was actually going to go through with whatever he was planning. Considering the cumulative sum of everything that had happened in the past ten minutes was a sneeze from somewhere in the castle and one of the guards nearly skewering himself as he slumped over his pike, she felt like she had reason to be worried. Lena was nearly dozing off herself before a god damn explosion rocked the room. She scrambled to her feet as the guards went flying and yells sounded from the throne room - What was going on? Oh god, what had Junkrat done? Was that _clucking_ she could hear?  
  
True to his word, Lena watched as the doors suddenly flung open, a noble fleeing and yelling something that was unintelligible between his fury, his fear and the copious amounts of chicken feathers stuffed into his mouth. The very sight made Lena stifle a giggle as she watched him bail past - god, was those velvet pants? And gold jewelry? All dunked in feathers and some sort of sticky substance? Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she slipped past the frazzled guards with a quick ‘Cheers!’, through the open doors and finally into the throne room. Or at least, she tried to.  
  
“Miss, stop!” The taller guard said, trying to grab for her arm.  
  
“Not a chance!” She replied, ducking away from his grasp. She could feel fingers brush her arm - being as tired as she was, her reflexes weren’t apparently up to scratch anymore.  
  
“Miss, you are trespassing-”  
  
“As if! I’m the royal messanger for Pete’s sake!”  
  
“You are interrupting a very important hearing-”  
  
“And I just saw him bolt out the room so I think it’s ended now-”  
  
“Miss, I will place you under arrest-”  
  
“ _Stand down._ ”  
  
The voice was gruff but cut through their words in an instance, shocking them both into silence as the king rose to his feet. His hair had long greyed but his eyes were still piercing and they stunned Lena in a way few were able to - and she was used to it. The guard next to her looked two seconds away from bolting himself now, only his pike on the ground steadying his shaking body.  
  
“Do you know who this is, soldier?”  
  
“I- no my liege.” He said, and Lena could suddenly see the youth in his face. Probably his first week on duty for the king. What a start.  
  
“This is the royal messenger, Lena Oxton. She is always permitted to see the Queen and myself, regardless of what other instructions have said.” His expression softened like that. “A simple mistake, but one I will not tolerate again. You and Parker are dismissed for the evening.” The guard, wisely, said nothing more and simply exited the room. His partner was nowhere to be seen; if the way the soldier had reacted to her said anything he was probably on a goose chase after Junkrat.

“I feel like there must have been a less disruptive way in here, Lena.” Angela finally spoke; though she was clothed quite plainly for royalty she held all of the grace somebody of her stature was expected to have.  
  
“Trust me, if there was I would’ve tried it. Those guards were eyeing me up like falcons though. Don’t think that would’ve been too good for me either if you hadn’t been round to stop them.” Lena said, jabbing a thumb in the direction the guard had left.

“At least they’re doing their job.” Angela said. Lena was glad through her exhaustion she took a double take at the older woman; at the second one she could see the glint of amusement in her eyes hidden by her carefully steeled expression. That expression was probably so noticeable though because of the state of the room. There were still feathers everywhere, a few chickens scratching at the carpet that a few servants were trying to chase up before they did any serious damage. Inexplicable scorch marks covered the stone floor in random intervals and to one side of the room the bard, a young man with dreads and a slightly traumatised expression, was picking feathers out of his horn. He still managed to offer Lena a good natured smile and wave when she looked over at him though, which got a giggle out of her. God, this looked _ridiculous.  
_  
“It is good to see you, Lena.” Jack said, sitting back on his throne. Even now, years on from when he had taken the throne, he still looked… Not quite _right_ on the ornate metal. Not that he was a bad king - far from it - perhaps it was the fact he never quite settled into the set, like he himself felt like he didn’t belong on the metal. Then again, the man had just been an average knight before the Great Battle of Evrocawth that had actually made him king. “It’s been too long since you’ve come back. Hana’s missed you, keeps going on about wanting to show you her new toys.”

“What, you been spoiling the brat again?” Lena said, teasingly as she strolled up to the base of the thrones. Jack just laughed.  
  
“Yeah, no. She’s been playing nice with Torbjorn and Winston; saw her running around in a suit of armor that I did most certainly _not_ give her permission to own.”  
  
“It’s just a suit of armor though, Jack.” Angela replied. “It’s not the end of the world.”  
  
“It’s just a suit of armour? Yes, just a suit of inexplicably large, magically enhanced, _pink_ armour. What do I even have to worry about?” Jack said absolutely deadpan, before shaking his head. “Should’ve never let Reinhardt get sweet on the girl. This is all his fault.”  
  
“Even though you’re a knight too?”  
  
“I’m not the one who refuses to take his armour off. I think he takes his position as royal champion a bit too seriously at times.” Jack said, huffing in dissatisfaction before turning to Lena. “What is the news from the watchpoint, Lena? You took longer than I expected...  Honestly, you look like death.” At the mention of her mission the woman’s face instantly soured, the reaction so instantaneous she could see any remaining whimsy disappearing from the royals’ faces. The nature of the conversation weighed on her shoulders as heavily as her exhaustion and it made her knees shake.  
  
“Look, the watchpoint was fine and that’s not here or there. What’s important is.. I- Reyes is alive.”  
  
“ _What?”_ Jack growled in outrage, getting to his feet again. Except this time it wasn’t just to berate a guard; his hand was on his sword and his eyes were so ice cold Lena could feel her heart thud in her chest.  
  
“He was there when I went to pass through Aroddo. He burnt everything to the ground- I could hear people screaming inside their houses as they went up in flames. Everybody was gone and he killed those that tried to run away. He called himself Reaper, didn’t even seem to know who ‘Reyes’ was. He had _magic_ Jack - and Amélie was with him.”  
  
“But she’s dead. She was killed years ago. _”_ This time it was Angela’s turn to look shocked.  
  
“She was alive, she was _there._ ” Lena insisted with all seriousness. “She certainly didn’t look bloody right, her skin was all purple like it was bruised but it was her. She didn’t seem to think she was her though. She called herself Widowmaker - she wants to make you a widow, Angela.” Angela said something under her breath that Lena didn’t quite catch, but the tone made all too clear was unkind in nature.  
  
“This is bad - if she makes it back onto the throne we lose all power. We may have usurped Reyes from the throne but this is Lacroix sacred land at the end of the day. By law, she’s the rightful queen. It wouldn’t take much to prove that either, if she truly is alive.”  
  
“And since she’s working with Reyes he must have brought her back from the dead - along with himself, somehow.” Jack said, before cursing loudly. “Lena, do you know anything else?”  
  
“Yeah, I do.” Lena said quietly, clutching her head. God, it was _pounding_ right now. “He looked at me you know - right across the village with all the chaos and burning bridges and stuff but he looked me right in the eye and I could feel it in my bloody stomach. _You’re next. I know who you are._ ” She hissed the words in a poor mockery of his voice but they made her shake anew. They ignited the memories she wanted to bury, of red eyes peering into her own, of being trapped in her own dreams and the smell of rot and death and pestilence stewed over years long dead.  
  
“Lena, are you okay?”  
  
Of fingers curling around her neck, struggling against that grasp because this was a dream, this was a dream she could escape if she thought hard enough and yet knowing she had no control at all.

“Lena?!”  
  
Of looking into eyes across a burning battlefield that never should have been one and feeling a gaze she wish felt familiar on her. But it was too cold, too unknown. She had been long dead and Lena knew it, had mourned for her and had to pull herself back together so painfully in the wake of her death - but then how was she alive?

“ _Lena!”_ _  
_ _  
_ Too cold, too cold, too cold…

-x-  
  
The first thing that Lena registered was the soft scent of moonflowers and forget-me-nots. Through her subconscious, muddled by something she couldn’t really pick apart right now, she clung onto those things as she pulled herself to the surface and fought to open her eyes. Her body felt heavy and far too light all at once, like there were weights tied to her body keeping her anchored to the earth. It was alien, unnatural, wrong like Reyes’ gaze staring deep, deep into her-  
  
That was the thought that made her shoot up where she lay, clutching at her chest as her heart beat like a jackrabbit beneath the skin. _Wrong, wrong, danger, wrong_ her subconscious seemed to scream even though she was safe - was she though? She had to be - she recognised this room with it’s boiling potions and mechanical contraptions spread all over the various surfaces, she recognised the way the tables were parted far too large for any regular human to move between but still she doubted and tried to fight the fight or flight instinct within her that made her want to run. 

“Lena! You’re finally up.”  
  
She looked over to the other side of the room as a familiar ape crossed over to see her - a statement she never thought she would say. Then again, it wasn’t often that one was friends with the court mage, let alone a cursed one. Come to think of it, Winston was really the only man alive that fitted that description; that was probably a good thing.  
  
“Winston, love, good to see you. Mind filling me in?”  
  
“I was hoping you’d be able to do that.” Winston replied, adjusting the spectacles perched on his flat nose. “Angela and a couple of the servants brought you in - you’ve been out cold since last night, and it’s nearly midday now.  
  
“That long? I don’t even remember falling asleep...”  
  
“That would be because you fainted.” Winston replied. “Angela looked over you and said there was nothing wrong with you from a medical standpoint besides a heightened state of exhaustion - which worries me, if the little I’ve heard of the situation is true.”  
  
“About Reyes?”  
  
“Exactly.” Winston settled back onto his hunches; even with his laboratory organised how it was, the man turned gorilla still looked just out of place between the vials and books and low burning candles. He looked like the product of the court mage’s experiments, not the court mage himself and Lena loved the fact she had been there to see people make that exact mistake too many times. “Reyes was felled by Morrison at the Battle of Evrocawth - I saw the body myself. He had suffered the sort of injuries no normal man could recover from, which leads me to believe he has enlisted the use of dark magic to keep himself in mortal form. Lena, have you ever heard of a lich?”  
  
“I’ve heard of them, sure. Weren’t there a bunch fighting for the elves?”  
  
“There were only a few, and I would consider them extremists, but yes. Before Jack took the throne and the human elven wars were still ongoing, there were a few elves who sought out the secrets of lichdom. Sealing their souls away in phylacteries, they were free to chase what they could not obtain in one lifetime with the most vile magics at their disposal. Knowledge, power - or what I suspect for Reyes now, revenge.” Lena just nodded, before looking back up at Winston.  
  
“Wait, what does that have to do with me though? Weren’t we just talking about how I just blacked out out of nowhere?” Winston just huffed, nostrils flaring.  
  
“The longer a lich is alive, the more they leave behind their mortal traits. Eating, sleeping, breathing, that sort of thing. However, that has to be replaced by something; in most cases it’s solely magic, but the human body will always crave mortality incarnate - a soul. It’s why liches always become deranged individuals, no more rational than beasts. Their bodies, as they outstrip the last of their mortality and start performing more powerful rituals, only crave a soul within them even more and few realise that before they start down the path. It would explain why Reyes burned down Aroddo, and it would certainly explain your condition.”  
  
“My condition?”  
  
“You have been feeling tired over the past few days, have you not? Exceptionally so?”  
  
“I’ve also been booking it back here,” Lena replied, her concern apparent in her voice. “That tends to make you tired… Right?” Winston said nothing, instead leaning over to her neck to feel her pulse. Lena let him, tilting her head to make it easier; why wouldn’t she? Winston was her oldest friend, and his knowledge far surpassed her own. But no sooner had his bare fingers touched the skin of her neck did she jerk back, gasping as her fingers dug into the mattress _rot and death and pestilence feel him breathing on her neck the reaper the reaper-_ _  
_ _  
_ “Lena, speak to me.”  
  
“ _Bloody hell._ ” She spat out, shivering _too cold, too cold_ as she looked up at Winston. “What did you just do?!”  
  
“It’s not what I did that caused your reaction.” Winston said, frowning. “It’s the magic that Reyes has latched onto you. My magic being in such close proximity with it is making it act erractically - it’s like a magically induced leech, expect instead of taking blood it’s taking your life force.”  
  
“Then what are you waiting for?!” Tracer said, unable to keep the concern out of her voice. “Get the bloody thing out of me! I don’t want to let him suck all my life away!” Winston looked like he was about to argue with her - probably about the specifics of what she had just said and how it was just slightly wrong - but seemed to decide against it at the last moment. Instead he lumbered over to a large cabinet, pulling some sort of powder out from a drawer. He whispered words she couldn't understand but felt charged in a way she couldn't explain, before he smeared it across his hands.  
  
“I’m not entirely sure this will work, but I’ll give it a shot. I'm sorry; this will hurt.” 

Then Winston lay his hand against Lena’s neck again and she had to bite the meat of her thumb not to scream as pain shot through her body. Her fingers dug into the mattress, nails biting into the sheets as the overload made her eyes cross and all the while she could feel something being pulled out of her, dark and cold and as unwelcome as they came. But as soon as the pain had come it left again, leaving Lena to fall back in a cold sweat against the bed, drained and yet somehow feeling better than she did before.  
  
“That seemed to deal with most of it- Eurgh!” Winston grunted as he groped aimlessly around him for a bottle. When he did he quickly flicked his wrist; Lena watched as something wispy and black dripped from his pointer fingertip into the jar. A few shakes of his hand and he sealed the glass up with a cork, making a disapproving sound as the… _Stuff_ shifted and roiled in its prison, clearly unhappy.

God, that had been _in_ her. The very thought made Lena very glad she hadn’t eaten anything recently.  
  
“How do you feel?”  
  
“A right sight better, that’s for sure.” Lena sighed, lying back and enjoying the fact she didn’t have a wispy lich’s pet in her veins. Suddenly though she actually processed what Winston had said “Wait, what do you mean you’ve dealt with _most_ of it?”  
  
“As much as I’d like to say that’s the end of it, it’s pretty unlikely it is.” Winston replied. “While Reyes to my knowledge was never a spellcaster, whatever magic he is now using is very powerful. There’s a good likelihood there’s still an anchor within you I can’t remove without further research.”  
  
“Wait - there’s more of that goop in me?!”  
  
“No.” Winston said firmly, sitting back on his hunches again. “That immediate danger is gone - but should he try to cast magic on you again it will be easier and the effects more rapid. If the anchor exists, it’s just the barest kernel of what magic it used to be - harmless, really. As long as you’re wearing your amulet, you should be fine - come to think of it, you’re probably only safe because of it.” The words instantly made Lena’s fingers grasp for the solid weight around her neck, a reflex that calmed her when she felt the smooth metal under her fingers.  
  
“Then that’ll be the what, fifth time it’s probably saved my life? Pretty good track record, Winston.”  
  
“Honestly, if this is anything to go by I probably need to redo the enchantments on it.” Winston said none too gruffly. “It should have protected you better than that.”  
  
“Relax, big guy!” Lena replied with a grin, swinging an arm around Winston’s neck. His fur smelled of static and magic and _home_ and it hit her just how much she had missed Winston after her time away and especially after what she had just gone through. She’d known him for so long that he could anchor her just as well as Blink could, if not more. That was what childhood friends were best at, right? “What’s important is I’m still here and you’re still here. Plus, wasn’t last time you redid them right after you got the tits cursed off of you?”  
  
“Back when I didn’t know I could use my feet as hands. That was a dark time.” Winston agreed, laughing with a rumble that seemed to shake the whole room. “If you leave it with me, I can redo them while you talk to Angela and Jack again. They’ve requested you come as soon as you are able to further discuss what to do about Reyes.”  
  
“Yeah, don’t think I got too far through about what I saw of him and Amélie.” Tracer said. She squeezed Winston tight once more before letting go. “You gonna be alright here, you animal?”  
  
“When have I not been?”  
  
“I dunno, I mean you were pretty shaken up there for a few months there when old prissy pants first cursed you.”  
  
“I had been cursed, Lena.”  
  
“And you asked, _Winston._ ” Lena replied, poking her tongue out. “Course, it all turned out good and dandy for you, but that sure wasn’t how it was back then.”  
  
“You’ve made your point.” Winston said, rolling his eyes. Lena could tell he was fine with it though - all his old habits had carried through from his human days, the way his eyes scrunched and the left corner of his mouth twitched like he was futily fighting a smile. “The two of them are most likely having lunch now - you should be able to get in and organise a further meeting from there if they don’t just hold it right there and then.”  
  
“And this’ll be all done when I get back?” Lena asked, unlatching the amulet and pressing it into the palm of Winston’s hand. Her hand was so small in comparison. 

"Promise." Winston replied, smiling before ruffling Lena’s hair. “Now, are you feeling good enough to go talk to everybody? As much as I’d like to say there’s no rush, that’s no excuse for you to go running off when you’re still not feeling well.”  
  
“Zipping around’s kind of what I do, love.” Lena said, swinging her feet down to the ground. “I get it though, I’ll keep an eye on myself. You look after yourself too, okay?”  
  
“Of course.” Winston said, before pausing. “Look, Lena. Are you sure it was Amélie with Reyes? I know that you’d want it to be her, and it would explain why we never recovered the body, but…”  
  
“Honestly, I wish it had been anybody but her.” Lena said quietly, looking at her hands. “I just can’t mistake that face for anybody else, y’know?  I just _can’t.”  
_  
“I know.” Winston said, words failing him for a good few seconds. “Just… Be careful, okay? Existence beyond death is a shallow one, one that is void of emotion and feeling of any sort. It’s one that is best ended quickly. If that is Amélie, it’s not the Amélie you knew - you have to believe that.”  
  
“Okay.” They both know she didn’t.  
  
“You will be kindest in killing her.”  
  
“Okay.” They both knew she wouldn’t. But that was Lena - stubborn and so, so faithful in the good she saw in the world and that she saw in other people. Winston, Angela, Jack, everybody who cared about her told her that same thing _your heart is too open you are too kind too trusting one of these days somebody will take advantage of that, will kill you for that._ But she just couldn’t bring herself to care because she cared too much. And if she didn’t, who would? The world, after all, could always use more heroes.  
  
-x-  
  
Lena slipped into the large dining hall just as the dishes were starting to be collected together off the table, and already she realised this wasn’t the normal gathering of officials that the royals had here. Angela and Jack were at their respective heads, of course, and she could see Hana waving at her furiously with half a jam tart shoved into her face. Satya was murmuring something or another to the king, her noteboard propped up on her lap with it’s blue candle forever burning and Reinhardt was still busy tucking into what Lena suspected was his tenth duck leg if the pile of bones on his plate had anything to say on the matter. As per usual, he was still decked out in his complete suit of armour sans helmet - she was pretty sure he was inseparable from it at this point and she wasn’t entirely sure that was figurative.

That, however, was where the normality on the issue ended - because while usually there would be all manner of noblemen and ladies sharing the banquet, today it was only the closest of Jack’s circle. The only person that Lena wasn’t used to seeing was the darker skinned woman near his end of the table, a woman who seemed to permanently hold herself with a soldier's pride. An unusual tattoo curled around and under her eye; she didn’t look up when Lena approached and yet somehow she knew that the woman had already seen her.  
  
“Lena.” Jack said, nodding at the woman stealing a bread roll off a passing tray. “It is good to see you back in full health.”  
  
“Feels bloody great to be, too.” Lena agreed. “Don’t reccomend fainting. A hard knock to the head’s pretty hard to spring back from.”  
  
“But you have, and that’s the important part.” He said, before gesturing to the woman to his side. “Lena, this is Pharah, my warlord. Pharah, Lena.”  
  
“Pleasure to meet you!” Lena pepped up, leaning over the table and sticking out a hand. The woman took to in reply, shook firmly - her grasp was strong, like if she really wanted to she could throw Lena right across the table. The smile on her face was pleasant enough though.  
  
“Please, call me Fareeha.” She said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well - it’s not often one gets to see the famous Tracer for anymore than a few seconds.”  
  
“Yeah, riding Blink kind of gives a girl a reputation.” Lena agreed, brightly. “Warlord, huh? Good to finally meet the woman behind the armies. Don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”  
  
“It’s what happens when you’ve got a couple of legions under your command.” She replied, although not unkindly. “Men require orders, and I am best equipped to give them. Besides Jack, of course.” The man in question smiled faintly at that, although his expression was too steeled for the expression to fully form. As the final plates were cleared away Satya quickly slid over to the middle of the table, unfurling the large map she had stowed beside her and placing a few markers on it - one on Evrocawth itself, another on the watchpoint Lena has visited not even a week ago. The small group congregated around the map with Hana bounding up to Lena’s side and slinging an arm around her while Reinhardt came around her other side. The only reason Lena escaped a similar hug from him was that he was focused on the map in front of them, concern knitting his brow. Across from them, Satya and Fareeha flanked Angela and Jack respectively. Angela took Jack’s hand in her own, soothing over the digits with slim fingers. He nudged her in response, a barely there notion that Lena wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been looking out for it.  
“Can you retell exactly what happened to you, from when you left watchpoint Algirbtar?” Satya said, looking to her with keen blue eyes over her spectacles. Lena nodded.  
  
“Algirbtar was fine when I left - if there was any interference there beforehand I wasn’t aware of it. I’d traveled for two days before I hit Aroddo. Got there mid evening and I was going to ride straight through since I’d been slowed by one of the bridges giving out near the watch point.” As she said the town name Satya placed down another marker in from the western edge of the island, halfway between the watchpoint and the capital. She gestured for Lena to continue. “When I was approaching though. there was a bloody ton of smoke. I decided to skirt round the edges on Blink, see how bad it was, didn’t want to spook him in case. And when I arrived… God, everything was on fire. The houses, the tavern, the town hall. I could hear everybody insides, hell I could see people at the windows. They were all trapped inside and in the middle of the town I could see Reyes. He had his back to me but I could hear him talking - he called himself Reaper and the person with him Widowmaker. He seemed out of his blimmin’ _mind_.” She shook her head before forcing herself to carry on.

“I didn’t dare breathe but it was like he knew I was there - turned around and looked me right in the eye and he didn’t look right at all. His skin was all pulled back and skully, and he didn’t even have eyes anymore. They were just like these two dots of red.” She shuddered at the thought. “And beside him he had a woman… Amélie.” She said the words reluctantly, as if even now she was still refusing to believe them. “She almost looked just how I remembered but her skin was purple like she’d been bruised. She was all done up in this leather armour too, had a crossbow slung over her back. Looked like she was ready to kill but everybody was already dying...”  
  
“I’m sorry you had to see that.” Angela said. Lena just nodded solemnly; unfortunately it was not the first and it wouldn’t be the last time she saw such horrors and she really, _really_ did not like dwelling on them - but she had to tell the story and this unfortunately was part of it.  
  
“I thought I saw his lips moving again but I couldn’t hear what he was saying anymore - thought it was just me losing it, but hindsight’s telling me that was probably when he cast his magic on me. It was draining my life - pretty wicked, honestly. When he did that though, he pulled this mask back over his face that looked like a cow skull... That’s all I saw. I bolted after that, knew I had to tell you as soon as possible and didn’t feel safe at all. Couldn’t do anything to help either.”  
  
“That’s what we’re here for.” Satya said briskly. “The sooner we work out a plan, the quicker we can right what has happened.”  
  
“Any bright ideas then, Satya?”  
  
“I’ve conversed a little with Winston on the matter of Reyes - as he’s probably been building his power for the better part of ten years he is going to be very powerful. Not to mention the death of an entire town will certainly buff his magic reserves. From what I can see, he has two options.” She pulled out two red tokens, pushing one directly to the capital. “The first option is that he takes Evrocawth directly without any delay. I see little evidence there is any motive to his existence currently other than taking back what he believes you took from him at the Battle of Evrocawth.” She motioned at Jack who stood with folded arms.  
  
“I told him that we would discuss after the battle how to determine the new king, once we had suppressed the elves. He decided to talk immediately with his sword instead.”  
  
“It wouldn’t be hard for him to do.” Satya said, continuing. “He would easily be able to conjure an undead army just from the hillsides around the capitol alone. Whatever we decide, I advise regardless we move at least one legion back to the capitol permanently until we can be certain Evrocawth is in no danger.” She took the other counter, placing it beside Aroddo.

“I however do not think this is Reyes’ most likely course of action. As he has Amélie with him, it is likely he will be leveraging her to gain access to the throne not just by sheer power, but politically being in the right standings. However, as Amélie was vacated from the Evrocawth castle, it is not as simple as walking in here and declaring the place hers. We, after all, know what is coming.” With that, Satya pushed the counter up the map, north until it settled in the heart of the mountain range there.  
  
“The Lacroix were a proud house, and they gained these lands by defending the people who lived here against the large arachnids that used this place as hunting grounds. They were masters of both spell and blade, and the house learned to weave their magic into their weapons to make their damage even more potent. Because of their honed skill over many years, they managed to push back the arachnid population to the Lapen belt, where they established the Abckl fortress. I bring this up for two reasons. Firstly, if the information that Winston has given me is correct, a lich contains their soul in a phylactery; an object that if not destroyed will allow a lich to come back from death again and again. Considering even the Lacroix records that remain don’t have it’s exact location, it’s a prime place for Reyes to store his. Secondly, and more importantly, it is said that the fortress houses a passage only able to be opened by those of Lacroix descent, straight into the heart of Evrocawth country. If that is true, it gives Reyes and whatever forces he has the ability to pass beneath the countryside unseen and strike without us seeing them coming.”  
  
“So we go to the mountains, find the fortress and block off the passage back here?”  
  
“Precisely.” Satya replied. “And hopefully deal with Reyes and Amélie at the same time.”  
  
“Then it sounds like a plan.” Jack said, getting to his feet. “We’ll regroup in the morning and set out.”  
  
“Wait.” Satya said. “Jack - for you to leave would be the single greatest mistake we can make at this moment. If you somehow die all it would take would be the next man with any sort of knowledge of the law and a way into the castle to declare himself king, even if Angela remains behind.”  
  
“So you’re saying to do nothing, then.”  
  
“No, Jack.” Satya said, “I’m saying we send a small shock troop up to deal with this - one that can move more quickly than a full sized army and without drawing attention to themselves. Then the remainder, along with yourself, stay at the castle.”  
  
“Sounds like a job for me and Blink.” Lena said.  
  
“You’ll need other people, especially if Reyes has cottoned on to the fact we are pursuing him.” Angela said. “I will be joining you, Lena.”  
  
“Wha- Wait, really?!” Lena spluttered, taking a step back because _what?_ “Your majesty, you can’t-”  
  
“I can, and I will.” Angela replied, levelling Lena with her gaze. “While I am the queen now, I am a follower of the light and a healer at heart and always have been. And quite honestly, I have neglected my work as a Valkyrie for too long. You will need me, especially fighting against dark magic.”  
  
“You’re not going to get your ass beat?” Hana said.  
  
“That’s what the rest of my team is for.” Angela said.  
  
“I can work with that.” Jack said before a barely there smile, so sly in nature, came over his face. “In that case, you will need somebody with you who is able to take the blows neither of you can. Pharah, would you accompany these two and draw you sword in service to me?” Now _that_ got an interesting reaction - across the table from the discussion, Tracer had a perfect view of Angela’s face going incredibly pink as her fingers tangled in the fabric and beading of her dress. Angela suddenly looked very flustered, and _very_ unimpressed that she was reacting as such.  
  
“Are you sure that is necessary?” Angela said, giving Jack a blatant stare.  
  
“It is.” He replied, and oh, Lena knew that he had planned this as soon as he had connected the dots. “Your magic is used primarily to heal, not harm, and while I know and trust Lena’s swordsmanship she is far more deadly with a dagger and surprise attacks. Pharah is one of my most trusted knights, and I would be content in the knowledge she is watching over you.”  
  
“I will entrust my life to this mission.” Fareeha said, nodding. If she had noticed Angela’s reaction she had said nothing - consider the awkward angle she was standing at though, Lena found the idea highly unlikely.  
  
“Then it seems it is to be the best course of action.” Angela said, before meeting Jack’s eyes. “Although I do wish to speak to you about the mission - in whole! - after this.” Lena wondered, if that reaction was anything to go by, if she really meant ‘in whole’.

“Do we require anybody else?” Lena asked, turning to Jack. She could see Angela sighing in relief as Jack was momentarily distracted - and distracted was the right word alright when none other than Hana puffed out her chest and stepped forward.  
  
“Me.”  
  
“Hana.” Jack said sternly, but the young woman just lifted her head defiantly in a way that seriously harkened back to her mother. The kid may be adopted, but she sure took after her parents.  
  
“Look, I get it.” Hana said, looking up at Jack. “Sending your little girl out into the world feels like a shitty thing to do-”  
  
“ _-Language._ ” Angela cautioned.  
  
“-But I can seriously help! Okay, look, let’s look at the facts.” She said, pushing Lena out of the way to slam her hand down on the table. “To start with, Torb has crafted me the best armour gold can buy - _better_ than gold can buy, Torb is actually the best blacksmith in the whole country and everybody knows it, including you. And my suit of armour is made to Reinhardt’s standards. There is no doubt that it’s the best around. Tell him I’m right Reinhardt!”  
  
“But of course!” Reinhart said, seemingly more than happy to back Hana up. “Every inch of that armour Torbjorn and I went over - we had to make sure it was perfect for our little girl, see? The metal will crumple on it when I lose my other eye - her armour is probably better than mine!”  
  
“Add on that Winston’s enchanted like… Every part of it.” Hana continued. “I can lift up cows, I can throw logs around - I can _fly_ , you know who’s going to lose their shit when they see a flying suit of armour? _Everyone._ Then consider you’ve been teaching me how to fight since I was what, six? And I’ve been throwing sticks at you for a hell of a lot longer than that. I’m small, I’m quick - if I’m not in my armour for some reason I can still hold my own, and in my armour I can take a blow better than anybody here. Lena and everybody shouldn’t just want me, they _need_ me.” She folded her arms across her chest and Lena could tell even behind the folds of her dress she was grounding her stance. Lena hid a smile - whether Jack liked it or not, Hana had shaped up to be a fine warrior. “Your move, dad.”  
  
“Fine.”  
  
“But- Wait, really?” Hana said, double taking with excitement tinging her voice.  
  
“Look, I’ve seen you sparring with Reinhardt - you have good form, kid, something I know I’ll be proud to know you’re putting to good use. Plus, it’s not like your mother won’t be there to keep an eye on you.” Jack added with a smile. Lena could practically hear Hana roll her eyes in reply. Satisfied, Jack turned back to Lena.  
  
“Besides Hana, there’s nobody else in Evrocawth that’d make sense to send with you. Besides you four, I know that a knight by the name Zarya has been seen to the north. She was of immense help in the Battle of Evrocawth, although she is a knight only in name now - because of the treaties we made with the elves she refused to pledge herself to me or any lord. Still has a good arm on her though, and I know she wouldn’t turn down a worthy cause. If you cross paths with her she would be sure to join you.”  
  
“Noted.” Lena said.  
  
“You will be crossing through elven treaty lands in your travels.’ Satya pointed out, gesturing at the small village of Hensir and northwards. “I would be surprised if you encountered her any further north than here, given her persisting grudges towards the elven people. Your first and foremost aim though should be speed - Reyes and Amélie are several days ahead of you at this point, and it may be more of a case of intercepting their arrival here somewhere in the passage - or preferably before - than beating them at their own game.”  
  
“Reyes is a tactical bastard.” Jack said. “He will try to cut you off, probably with magic if he has actually got access to that now. Be aware of the stunts he’s trying to pull and don’t try to play hero. You can do that _after_ you’ve dealt with those two.”  
  
“That’s pretty blimmin’ rich coming from you.” Lena said, teasingly.  
  
“I’ve done my duty - would still do it if I didn’t have to run a goddamn country too.” He replied. “Go talk to Torbjorn and make sure all your weapons and armour are sorted. Can’t have you going out with dull blades. You included, Hana. As for me, I believe I need to have a word with our queen.”  
  
“Sounds like a plan!” Lena said, stepping back from the table and saluting as Satya rolled up the map and tidied away the markers. She turned to her new travel companions. “Meet at the stables at dawn ready to go? I know Blink could do with an extra night’s rest.” The three other woman nodded with various degrees of enthusiasm - after all, they all knew they would need the rest.

-x-

“Jack Morrison, I would like you to explain exactly _why you thought that was a good idea_ .”  
  
Despite her height, Angela knew exactly how to hold herself to appear taller, more intimidating. Being able to control a room without a word was after all a critical part of leadership at the caliber she was at - a queen should be a lioness, elegant and powerful to friend and foe before she even once opens her mouth. But if she was the lioness, Jack was the old tom cat - and he knew all her tricks.  
  
“You say that if you haven’t been looking for an excuse for a ‘closer working relationship’ with Fareeha for months now.” He said, leaning against the cool stone of the master bedroom wall. It was the best place for them to converse in privacy - after all, who would think strangely of the king and queen retiring to ‘their’ room? “As I can’t be there with you, and Fareeha can, it seemed like a perfect strategy.”  
  
“You knew exactly what you were doing.” Angela accused, eyes narrowed. “Besides, what of the several _legions_ of men she commands? Do you really think making our warlord leave her men behind will have any good consequences come of it?”  
  
“When you consider that half of those men are going to be temporarily stated within a hundred miles of Evrocawth and Fareeha’s job is going to be reduced to daily drills and mind numbing bullshit weekly reports, I think we’d be glad for our warlord to be in the field and serving her country. And I’m not going anywhere either - you should know I have ample experience directing troops.” At that Angela just huffed, folding her arms over her chest as she slowly started to pace the room.  
  
The master bedroom was as decadent as one would expect a royal’s room to be; all ornate drapery in shades of gold and white, the small burner of incense making the scent of rosewood seem to sink into the very depths of the room. Dresses with intricate beadwork and embroidery lay over the overtly large bed, lain out for the queen to take her pick for a dinner function she had been hosting alongside Jack. ‘Had’ being the key word in that sentence - after all, this had been before their meeting, before she had found out she would be taking up her healing words and staff on the battlefield for the first time in years.

Before Jack had decided to be, quite frankly, an absolute dick.  
  
“You- you know how I feel about her.” Angela said, colour raising to her cheeks. “It’s simply not professional - and Hana’s going to be with me! Did you even consider that being an option?”

“You say that like you don’t have a grip on your emotions.” Jack said, but his expression was soft. “And I feel like if Hana is ready to fight as a soldier, she can handle seeing her mother dealing with romance. And this is even if you decide to act on your feelings.”

“I know, I know. I know I'm being so inconsiderate too - Lena and the others, _people_ need me and here I am fretting over unimportant feelings that shouldn't concern me nearly as much as they do. I’m not sixteen, It’s ridiculous for me to be acting like this.” Angela said, looking down at her hands as her shoulders slumped. "I just..." She trailed off as Jack rested a hand on her shoulder, tilting her head up with a finger.

"You're overthinking this, Angela." Jack said. "You're going into battle and we're not sure yet what's going to happen. You may succeed. You may fail. But what happens with Fareeha isn't relevant to the mission and your mission is not relevant to her or your feelings regarding her. They are separate, don’t mistaken them as entwined in any way."

"Are they really though?" Angela said. "I'm a Valkyrie, Jack, if my judgement is clouded or skewed in any way people could get seriously hurt. They could _die_ because I’m paying more attention to somebody else. _._ "

"Are you saying that your feelings for Fareeha are going to trump those for our own daughter?

"What- no!" When Jack gave her a look though she just sighed, defeated. Jack laughed softly.

"I just want the best for you Angela. Always have, always will. And you deserve somebody that can treat you right - an actual romantic partner instead of this political bullshit act we've been putting on for years." He took her hand, so soft compared to the deeply ingrained callouses in his own, and squeezed. "You're my best friend."

"And you mine." Angela said. "And we haven't done badly for ourselves, have we? A stable kingdom, a healthy daughter, a good inner circle.”  
  
“Exactly. And we couldn’t have done it if you didn’t have a good head on your shoulders. You underestimate yourself.”  
  
“I have a perfectly reasonable judgement of my own abilities, thank you very much. Sometimes.” She said the words straight, but there was a smile clinging to the edges of her words, to the curve of her mouth and the corners of her eyes. She pulled Jack into a hug, relaxing into the familiar hold as he wrapped his arms around her in return. Despite him now being king he had refused to let wealth fatten and slow him; Angela could still feel the strength in his muscles that reminded her exactly why he had been such a good soldier. There had been more to it than that of course, he had possessed charm in spades and persistence even more, and when she had been newly recruited into the royal army looking for a friendly face she had found it in Jack.  
  
“It’s going to be strange fighting without you by my side, Jack.”  
  
“It’s going to be strange not having you here with me.” Jack agreed. “Are you sure you’ll be okay? We’re not getting any younger, and I’m sure if we enquire at the temple the Followers of Light would only be too happy to send another Valkyrie with Lena.”  
  
“No, I have to do this.” Angela said, shaking her head as she pulled away from Jack’s hold. “I fought as a Valkyrie, I was accepted as your queen because I practiced my craft more than all others before me. People accepted me because I was a woman of faith. I was trusted, and as the years have gone on I’ve been neglecting my duties more and more. The sick pass on when something could be done, the dead are taken so forcefully from their families and good men suffer when I could do something. This is my chance to _do something._ ”  
  
“And there’s the Angela I know.” Jack said, nodding. “Is there anything you need from me?”

“Not anymore.” Angela replied. “I just need to pack my things now and prepare my staff for use again. It’ll need to be blessed anew.” Jack nodded, ghosting a kiss against her forehead before moving to the wooden door out of the room. Before he left though he turned around, grinning.  
  
“Oh, Angela?”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“I still don’t regret it. Just make sure you two don’t traumatise Hana too much, okay?”  
  
Mercy could hear his laughter all the way down the hall as she threw a pillow after him in vain.

-x-

 _Lena was asleep… Right?_ _  
_ _  
_ _It was the only explanation she had for the way that the stone walls around her seemed to waver like a disturbed water pool, the way her feet felt weightless and not at the same time. In the very back of her mind she could remember slipping into bed as well, enjoying the simple luxuries of a mattress and good blankets but the thought was unclear, hazy. She was simply existing in this space, and it took her a moment to realise why the state was so familiar to her._

_Reaper._

_The darkness, the confinement, the couldn’t breathe couldn’t breathe - this place had the exact same underlinings. But where there had been darkness there was only a muddled dusk here, where there had been nothing now stone walls grew up, the stone cut in a familiar way she couldn’t put her finger on. Where she could feel the fear as a tangible thing there was now only emptiness. Before, she could smell rot and death and pestilence, but here there was only a lingering uncertainty, one that Lena felt deep in her bones. Indeed, no place she had been to had ever been quite this confusing - the hallway split off into two more hallways and the one she took split into three more, and that one had lead to another fork and another split after that. It didn’t take long (or had it? She couldn’t track the time here even if she wanted to) before she resigned herself to the fact that she was hopelessly and dreadfully lost.  
_  
_The only breakup in the layout around her was the spiders. Webs that appeared out of nowhere only on a second glance. When she turned her gaze to the white stone, she could just catch the scuttle of the small creature trying to hide from her sight. The larger ones just stayed still though, watching her with beady eyes. She could feel all eight of them burning pin pricks into her skin. It was unnerving, made her hurried pace only longer in stride._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Hello?” She called out into the twisting halls, and though she was confined in stone the call rang out like she was in a space ten times the size. And that was what seemed to do it; while her attempts to reach the end of this labyrinth by foot were in vain it was her voice that seemed to made this place take pause. If anything, she swore she heard breath being held, the ghost of a heartbeat ringing in her ears._ _  
_ _  
_ _“I don’t know who you are, but do not do this again.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Wait!-”_ _  
_ _  
_ -Said Lena as she shot up in bed, fingers reaching out towards the voice she’d recognise anywhere and in her sleep addled-delirium it took her a few moments to realise she had awakened. Outside she could just see the sun beginning to kiss the horizon, the dark purple of the night greying with the impending dawn. She needed to go - the small group of them were to meet soon, and the sooner they left, the sooner they would hopefully be able to solve this whole damn thing. But for the first time in a long time, she found herself unable to tug herself away from the warmth of the covers and the mattress so soft beneath her. Instead her mind lingered on the words spoken by a voice she’d know anywhere - but it was muddled, wrong, and she couldn’t tell whether it was by the dream or by what had been done to her but Lena could never mistake her.  
  
“Amélie...”


End file.
